Are Your Speakers “Clued In”?

Are Your Speakers “Clued In”?

Have you ever attended a conference, heard incredibly valuable information, and not been able to tell your colleagues very much at all about what you learned? Well, you’re certainly not alone!

Most conference speakers give very informative lectures. The problem is that people do not learn very well from lectures. In fact, studies show that we only retains about 5% of what we hear in a lecture.

So, if a speaker lectures using a PowerPoint presentation, we can probably remember 20% of the information.

Is 20% good enough? In an average 50 minute presentation, you’ll remember 10 minutes worth of information … although the thoughts might not be cohesive.

For increased understanding, presenters should help the audience to internalize the new information; think about how that information fits into their workplace, professional interactions, and services they provide.

For optimal retention, present bits of information and ask the audience to turn to the person sitting near them and explain what they heard.

QUESTIONS TO PONDER:

If you are a Presenter, what level of retention are you aiming for in your audience? What are you doing to achieve that level of retention? What could you do to increase the level of retention?

If you are the Organization providing the conference, what can you do to help the presenters learn about the Learning Pyramid – and improve their performance and their audience’s experience?